The Softball-Team met the reigning champions Wittenbach Panthers on Sunday. They had no chance in either game and lost twice by 5-15 after four innings.
After four losses against their local rivals Zurich Barracudas, the title holders and league leaders Wittenbach Panthers were of course not the ideal opponent. But that was the way the schedule was supposed to be. The balance of power soon became clear. The Panthers were a bit better in all aspects of the game and since they didn’t let up, both games ended with a score of 15-5 after four innings. The Eastern Swiss team also had a clear lead in hits with 12-5 and 11-5 respectively, while the Challengers defense could not make the games any closer with a total of eight errors. Despite the two defeats, the Challengers remain in third place with a record of 9-7, but after six defeats in a row they urgently need a taste of success again.

The fourth Zurich softball derby was won by the Zurich Barracudas again. In cold, wet conditions they celebrated a comfortable 9-1 victory against the Challengers, thus winning their fourth derby within a month.
The Challengers’ performance matched the mediocre scenery. They were not as secure on defense as their opponents, they made too many mistakes in base running and were largely unlucky on offense. In any case the overall package was not enough to have a chance against the young and agile Barracudas team. After the first inning the home team was already behind 1-5. In the end they lost 1-9. A double from Lara Müller and a nice hit from Anouchka Michel were the rare highlights from the Challengers’ point of view. While the first two games against the Barracudas were close, they suffered clear losses in the last two games. Sunday offers the opportunity to regain some self-confidence with a better performance. The Challengers will then face the Luzern Eagles in Reussbühl. They had won against them twice in the first gameday in Zurich.

The Challengers can only partially keep up with the young Zurich Barracudas team. After a four-run rally by the Challengers the first game ends with a 10-12 loss. Game 2 was a one-sided affair for the Barracudas.
After the derby defeat in the first game against the Barracudas almost ten days ago the Challengers had to reduce their error rate if they wanted to have a chance of winning. The start of the game was not good, but thanks to a 3-run double from Alexia Zingg the C’s quickly came back to 4-5. The Barracudas were able to add some more runs, but the Challengers tied the game at 8-8 in the fourth and fifth innings. But in the bottom half of the fifth inning, they allowed the home team four runs with no fewer than three errors. Isabelle Tan brought her team within striking distance again in the sixth inning with a 2-run home run to make it 10-12, but the last five batters were all out and the game was lost which resulted in a loss.
Isabelle Tan and Alexia Zingg each recorded two hits and three RBI, Simone Zuschnitten had two hits with two RBI and Carmen Lutz-Demetz and Leandra Simitovic also delivered two hits each.
The guests were out of steam for Game 2. They fell behind 0-5 early on and the Barracudas sealed the deal with no fewer than eleven runs in the third inning. In the end the Challengers lost 3-16. Tuesday evening is their last chance to win a derby in the preliminary round. They will host the Barracudas at 7 p.m. on the Klopstockwiese.

After winning nine in a row the softball team lost 9-11 to the Zurich Barracudas on Thursday evening at the Klopstockwiese and had to give up the top spot in the standings to the reigning champions Wittenbach Panthers.
The action went back and forth. The game was characterized by spectacular plays, but also numerous errors, which caused a lot of traffic on the bases. The home team got off to a better start. After two innings the Challengers were ahead 5-2. Solana Lutz immediately reduced the lead to 4-5 with a 2-run single, but the Challengers were able to save the lead with a rundown and a rare double play on first and third base. In the fourth inning however, the Challengers took a timeout. With three errors, among other things, they didn’t make it too difficult for the Barracudas. The guests mercilessly exploited the errors to make it 8-5. But the Challengers fought their way back. Molly Mullens and Anna Zgraggen with an RBI single initially reduced the score to 7-8, before Alexia Zingg made it 8-8 with an RBI in the fifth. The game was tied to start the sixth inning. With doubles from Mariah Jameyson and Nadine Kronenberg as well as a sac bunt from Jody Fischer and an RBI groundout from Ines Dübendorfer the Barracudas took the lead again by three runs. The home team tried everything again, but could not manage more than the 9-11 by Anouk Lkharrazi, which sealed the first Challengers defeat after nine wins in a row.
Anna Zgraggen and Molly Mullens each scored two hits, Alexia Zingg recorded two RBI and Isabelle Tan scored two runs for the Challengers.